The adventures of Usagi and Mamoru
by Usagi-mamo
Summary: A quick story and some drabbles from other people that I really enjoyed I'm going to show their title and the author that wrote the drabble, I'm also including some of my own drabbles. :D


Serena sat at her desk in school, her head propped up on the palm of her hand, staring out the window. It was a glorious spring day, a day full of sunshine and birdsong. The sun sparkled on the sidewalk, leaves were beginning to unfurl on the trees, and early flowers were in bloom in the  
flowerbeds, a wild mixture of white and purple. It was the perfect day to share with someone special. In Serena's daydream, at least, that someone could be anyone, even the most unattainable guy she had ever met. Blue eyes sparkled at her as he offered her a flower. Black hair blew in the gentle  
breeze which carried the soft scent of fresh earth and wild crocuses... "SERENA TSUKINO!" Miss Haruna's furious yell broke Serena out of her lovely dream and brought her back to earth and the last period of an excruciatingly long school day. "Are you listening to me?" "Uh...yes, Miss Haruna?"  
"Good. For anyone ELSE who didn't catch that," the class snickered. Serena could feel her ears and cheeks turning pink. "I said that the local paper is offering a poetry contest. I want all of you to enter. The poetry can be any length, on any subject, no restrictions at all. You don't have to use your own name on the entry form if you don't want, but in that case please attach a slip of paper that tells me who wrote it. I want them first thing tomorrow." The bell rang, finally bringing an end to the school day. "You are all excused." Dragging her feet, Serena left the classroom. 'Poetry! That's not fair! I don't know how to write poetry! I can't spell, and I probably couldn't rhyme two words if I tried. And what am I supposed to write about anyway?' "Hey Serena!" Lita smiled down at her friend. She didn't receive an answer right away. "A penny for your thoughts." "Oh, Lita, I'm sorry. I've been ignoring you for the past five minutes! t's just that dumb poetry assignment..." "Oh yeah, I got that too. I think it will be so hard!" "What do you mean, Lita?" Asked Ami, joining them in the hall. "I am really looking forward to writing it! The prize is a $100 gift certificate to the mall, plus the winning entry gets published in the paper! Imagine all I could get with $100 dollars! A new computer program maybe..." "Easy for YOU to say Ami. My language arts grade is riding on this, and I've never tried writing poetry! I'll fail the class if I don't do well on this. I'm doomed." "Don't be so gloomy, Serena!" Lita admonished. "You've never tried,right? Maybe this could end up being something you are really good at." "Yeah right, Lita."  
"Well, don't knock it 'till you try it!" "Fine. But if I fail this class I'm blaming you guys." "If you blamed us every time you failed a class, where would that get us?" Lita asked playfully."LITA!" Serena chased her giggling friends down the street, her hair blowing like gold streamers in the warm wind. Darien sat on a stool in the arcade, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. 'A poetry contest...that sounds interesting...' Not lifting his eyes from the paper, Darien walked out the door. "Ouch!" When he lowered his eyes he saw a very angry face topped by two golden buns. "Watch where you're going Meatball Head!" Her brown-haired friend restrained her. Darien was sure she had been going to hit him. Actually Darien, I'm afraid that one was your fault." A girl with long pale hair caught up in a red bow walked from behind him and patted Serena on the arm. "Maybe you should watch where YOU'RE going. Come on Serena." "No...actually if I wasn't such a klutz maybe it wouldn't have happened. I'm sorry." She smiled an apologetic smile at Darien. Her eyes were thoughtful as she brushed the dirt off her skirt and walked into the arcade chattering with her friends. Darien stared uncomprehendingly after her. 'Meatball Head? Apologizing? That's not like her.' He shook his head and headed home. Mina watched Serena carefully. The girl's eyes were thoughtful. "Serena, if you don't eat that ice cream now, it's going to melt!" "You know what? You have it, Mina. I think I should go home and work on my poem. See you all later!" With those words Serena left her friends. She had not noticed the amazed expressions on their faces when she willingly opted to do homework. It didn't matter anyway. She had just gotten  
inspiration on what to write about. Almost since the day she had met him, Serena had thought Darien was the cutest guy she had ever met. She daydreamed about him in class, and her dreams at night were full of him too. She always wanted to tell him what she felt, but he made her so angry-plus he didn't see her as anything other than a kid. A stupid klutzy kid. 'But maybe I can express what I feel in a poem. He won't know that I wrote it, and maybe then he'll understand my feelings. At least I will understand them. I'm not so sure what's going on between us, but maybe this will help me understand.' Sitting down at her desk Serena took out a pen and a sheet of paper. After a moment of thinking, she scribbled down the first name that came to her "Daniella Caromini". That sounded mature enough. Slowly, painfully, the words came to her. She used a dictionary to check her spelling so that no one would see what she had written. She dragged the dusty old typewriter out of the garage and typed up her poem. She was at work until three in the morning. Her mother was worried and asked her if she had a fever. Luna was so happy that she looked as if she was smiling. Sandy was convinced his sister had been kidnapped by aliens and replaced with a substitute. Serena ignored them all and wrote deep into the night. Finally, it was ready. The next day at school, Miss Haruna walked around  
collecting the assignments. She passed right by Serena's desk without stopping."Wait Miss Haruna. What about me?" The teacher slowly and incredulously turned around. "YOU did your HOMEWORK? But this is a momentous occasion! I'll read it to the class..." "No, Miss Haruna. Please don't."The young teacher didn't understand why Serena sounded so hesitant. But she took up the paper, noting that it was typed. Not like Serena Tsukino at all. Of course, she probably just wanted that shopping spree... Three days had passed since Darien had seen Serena and her friends outside the arcade. That day, he sat at the counter just as was his habit, sipping coffee and reading the paper. "Hey, did you hear? The winner of the contest has been announced. her poetry is GREAT. But no one knows her. Do YOU know anyone named Daniella Caromini?" Darien shook his head. he found the right page and began to read the simple short poem titled "Almost Like Falling in Love"

I see your face, you look at me,  
That smile of yours that melts my heart.  
A child is all I think you see,  
But I can't bear when we're apart.  
Those eyes of yours are the deepest blue,  
They sparkle like the stars above.  
I lose myself when I look at you,  
And it almost feels like falling in love...

Darien looked up, startled. For some reason that simple little piece of poetry had touched his heart."Yeah, I know what you mean." Andrew said. "She must really love whoever she was writing about. Well, gotta be off...oh, there are Serena and her friends." "Hey Andrew! Hey Darien-shut your mouth before you even begin ton nsult me. So, who won the contest? I haven't seen the paper yet."  
"She's in a really good mood." Darien whispered aside to his friend Raye who was with them. "Yeah, her teacher gave her an 'A' on some poem she had to write. I think it saved our Meatball Head from failing." Meanwhile Andrew was talking to Serena. "Some girl named Daniella Caromini... What's wrong Serena?" Her face had become a pasty white. "Do you know her?" "Well...no, I don't KNOW her."  
"No, no you don't" Ami added in as quickly as she could."Nope, not at all." Mina replied. "No, I don't think she does..." Said Lita, although her eyes were bright, as if she had a secret she didn't want to share. Confused, Raye and Darien looked at each other. Suddenly Raye's face dawned with understanding. "Oh... Daniella CAROMINI...yeah...I'm sure I've heard that name somewhere before..." Oddly, Serena's face became even paler. "I'm not sure exactly where though..." Raye finished off, grinning slyly at a very relieved Meatball Head "Well, we must be going, bye everyone!" Cheerfully but urgently the girls pushed each other out the door. Darien looked at Andrew. "What was THAT all about? "Shrugging his shoulders Andrew replied "Beats me. maybe too much sugar?.." Darien looked back at the poem and noticed a post office box number next to it. "I think I'll write her a letter. Just to tell her how much I liked her poem...For some reason I feel like I know this girl. Though I would definitely remember if I met anyone named Daniella Caromini..." Serena stopped at the post office on her way home from school the next day. Apparently, there had been a PO box provided for the winner of the contest in case he/she received too much mail. When she had stopped at the newspaper office earlier to pick up her prize, the editor had explained that it was often necessary for the winners of such contests. Serena had finally given in and told her friends about the poem, which led to the discovery of her false name, which, of course, led to the rather painful admission that the poem had been about Darien. Her friends had promised not to tell him her secret. Opening the box with the key she had also been given, she saw five letters, and all of them were for her! Well, they were addressed to Daniella Caromini, but she was still happy. She had never gotten so much of her very own mail before. She looked through them. One letter, in a plain white envelope, had a stamp with a red rose on it and was from..."Oh my lord!" Serena shrieked, causing everyone in the office to lookup at her to make sure she was all right. After convincing them that she was, she ran home to enjoy her hard earned reward.

Dear Darien,

Thank you so much for writing to me. I am very happy you liked my poem...

Darien looked up from the letter in his hands to see Andrew leaning over his shoulder reading as well. "Hey! This is private correspondence!" He joked, although he knew it was very difficult to hide many things from his best friend. "So, she wrote you back huh?" "Sure looks like it. I guess she liked my letter enough to become interested in knowing me." "You'll write back, of course?" "Of course. I still have the feeling I know her. She has these really deep feelings, like no one I can think of, but she's...oh I don't know!"Andrew grinned at him. "Hate to say it buddy, but I have a feeling she's taken. Once that guy of hers realized how much she loved him...well, they are probably a very happy couple by now." "Well she wrote me, so I am going to write back. I'm not in it to find a girlfriend. This girl just...interests me. That's all." "Right." Andrew stated in a deeply mocking voice. Darien shook his head and left the arcade to compose his reply in peace. Several weeks had gone by since Serena's poem had been published in the paper. Most of the correspondence had died down, but the white envelopes with rose stamps arrived as regularly as clockwork, always on the day after she sent a reply. Serena cherished the letters, keeping them all in a box in her room, under the bed where Sammy couldn't find them. After they had gotten past formalities the two had realy begun getting to know each other. 'Only he thinks he is getting to know someone named Daniella Caromini...' Thought a slightly saddened Serena as she opened the latest letter. Over the last couple of weeks, Serena had learned many things about Darien that she had never known. He had told her that he had been orphaned very young and had no memory of anything before the fateful car crash that killed his parents. He had shared with her the details of his old modelling job, even of his first love, something that she found painful but extremely interesting. Sad stories, funny stories, romantic stories, back and forth they painted their dreams on paper and sent them by mail to the one person they thought would understand. For days, the girls had been teasing Serena about telling him who she was. Ami and raye were certain that he was completely in love with her already, the way they found him staring at her letters, even walking along the street reading them. Serena still wasn't sure about it though. She had a horrible feeling that once he found out who he had been sharing his secrets with he would shut his defenses tighter than before, and never let her through. Scanning over the last letter she gasped, re-reading a group of sentences that had caught her eyes. Will you please meet me? I feel like I know you already, but I would love to put a face with a name. Please come to the Fifth Street Cafe at6:00 on April 16th and let me treat you to dinner... Serena looked at her calendar. It was already the 15th of April! She had very little time to decide what to do. Picking up the phone she called Ami, Lita, Mina and even Raye. After long conversations with all of them, she finally decided that she would go. The next day Serena used part of her gift certificate to buy a new outfit. Not a really fancy outfit, just a short denim skirt and a pale pink tank top with a rose on it. She put on some pink lipstick and a little bit of blush. As she left her heart was beating so loudly she swore everyone in the house could hear it. Looking into the window of the Fifth Street Cafe Serena saw Darien siting at a little table with two chairs, leaning back in a relaxed fashion and drinking a cup of coffee. 'He looks so great...Who was I kidding when I decided to come? He'll leave the moment he realizes he's been writing to me the whole time. Oh WHY did I let Raye talk me into this? I shouldn't have come...No. I can't do this!" But Serena realized she couldn't just leave him there either. Taking a deep breath she walked into the cafe. "Hey there Meatball Head!" She stuck her tongue out at him before plopping down in the other chair by the small table. "That seat is taken." "You waiting for someone?" "Yeah." His eyes warmed at the mention of...her, she realized, but she didn't say anything about it. Instead she calmly stated, "Well if she shows up, I'll leave, OK?" "Not if. When." "When, then. Come on Darien, can I please stay? I'm kind of hungry anyway..." Before he could stop her, she had called over one of the waitresses and ordered a big chocolate shake. Serena noticed him looking at his watch every couple of minutes. 'I'm so sorry I can't make your dream girl appear for you. You don't even know how much I would do to make you smile...This isn't fair to you. I'm so sorry...' Outwardly, though, she kept her face cheerful as she chattered at him , though, he stood up with a lot of pain in his eyes. "She's not coming. She's two hours late." Even though she was hurt at his pain, her heart was rejoicing at the thought that he had waited two hours just to see her. Even if he didn't know it. Darien had understood when the letter came that told him she had not been able to meet him and that she was sorry. He had sent her a photo awhile ago, and asked for one back, but she replied that she didn't want to send one. He had been disappointed to say the least. 'Did she avoid meeting me because she is self-conscious about her looks or something? Doesn't she realize it doesn't matter to me anymore? I think I'd be in love with her even if she was bald and weighed 300 pounds...' More than anything, Darien just wanted to meet his mysterious girl. The girl, he was forced to admit, that had made her way into his heart until she was all he could think about. Andrew had mentioned that he had been acting distant lately. It was true, Darien realized. He spent even more time alone, reading and re-reading her letters. He felt as if he knew her, even if he had no idea what she looked like. Darien checked his mail to find another letter on her customary pink stationary.

Dear Darien,

I am so very sorry I couldn't meet you. I know I've already said this, and you have said that you forgive me. Still I feel like I owe you a personal apology... Please meet me tonight at eight at the Fairview Park. I promise I'll be there this time...

It had taken Serena all of the courage to write the letter she had sent off that morning. She knew she wasn't being fair to Darien. 'I have to end this deception right now. He can't go on thinking he has found the girl of his dreams just to find out it was me all along. But maybe now...I'll have a chance with him. But I have to go in either case. He deserves the truth.' Still, her steps were hesitant as she walked into the first fringe of trees. Some inner sense led her through the small park until she saw Darien sitting on a bench. Taking a deep breath and fingering the letter she had brought for verification she stepped out of the bushes. Darien turned his head. "Oh, it's you, Meatball Head. Every time I am waiting for someone you show up instead." "Please listen to me, Darien. It took me a lot of courage to come here tonight. Just...listen to me for once. Please." Realizing there was no way back, Serena pulled out his letter from behind her back. She could tell he recognized it by the way his eyes widened. "I wrote that poem, Darien. I used the false name so no one would laugh at me." She could almost see him gasp, finally comprehending. "The poem...it was about you. I came here tonight to apologize for lying to you for so long. But I feel like I know you almost as well as myself. I also came here to ask...if you...would maybe...give me a chance." Serena had been looking down during her small speech, scared to lookup and see his shock. Suddenly she could feel a pair of hands on her shoulders. Raising her head, she saw his face looking at her. "It was you all along..." "Oh, Darien, I'm sorry, I..." Before she could finish her sentence he pulled her very close to him and kissed her. She savored the first moment his arms enfolded her, losing the train of all conscious thought. When they finally pulled apart, she smiled  
at him tentatively. "Was that a yes?" His smiling eyes answered for her. She pulled even closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Almost like falling in love..." She whispered more to herself than him. Who knew a few words could be so powerful?"Almost?" "Well..." "You know, as I read those letters I calmer to know a girl who was so perfect for me I almost thought I had imagined her. I fell in love with the girl in the letters, not caring whether she was pretty or ugly, smart or dumb, not caring about anything but knowing her. And now I find out the perfect girl has been right under my nose the whole time. I'm sorry, Serena. Sorry that I didn't realize that I loved you earlier." He pulled her back, seeing the happiness in her big blue eyes. "I love you Serena Tsukino. And now that I have found you, I will never let you go." Serena's answer was only to hug him. He felt something soaking through his shirt. "Serena, ary you crying?" "Uh-huh." "Why? Did I say something to make you cry?" "No. I've just never been so happy...I love you too Darien. So much. I'm so glad I can finally tell you that after all this time." This time Darien was the one who didn't say anything. But the way they stood together in the moonlight was enough for Serena to know what he was feeling. 'Because sometimes,' she thought, giving him a soft kiss, "actions speak louder than words.'


End file.
